1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an information processing apparatus and method, particularly an information processing apparatus and method for creating, e.g., the minutes of a conference based upon entered information.
2. Description of the Related Art
So-called teleconferencing in which a conference is held by interconnecting a plurality of remotely located conference rooms utilizing a network has become commonplace in recent years. With telephone conferencing, the form and utterances of a conference participant located in a remote conference room are transmitted by a video camera or the like installed in the conference room. If sound recognition and image recognition are applied, the minutes in which the content of the meeting is recorded can be created based upon the images and sounds recorded.
Minutes created using sound and image recognition make it possible in some degree to collect, in a form in line with the flow of the conference, what has been said at the conference. However, it is not easy to tell from the minutes what was said in which conference room.
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problem and provide an information processing apparatus and method whereby it is possible to create document data that indicates the locations at which information contained in the document data was generated as well as the order in which the information was generated.
According to the present invention, the foregoing object is attained by providing an information processing apparatus comprising: input means for inputting different pieces of information, each of which is generated in different locations; recognition means for recognizing speech contained in the each piece of input information and generating text from the speech recognized; and generating means for generating data in which text that is generated and images that are contained in each piece of input information have been arranged based upon the locations at which the information originated and the order in which this information originated.
Further, according to the present invention, the foregoing object is attained by providing an information processing method comprising the steps of: inputting different pieces of information, each of which is generated in different locations; recognizing speech contained in the each piece of input information and generating text from the speech recognized; and arranging text that is generated and images that are contained in the each piece of input information based upon the locations at which the information originated and the order in which this information originated.
Other features and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which like reference characters designate the same or similar parts throughout the figures thereof.